Control of both Scale and Mealybugs is about the same and due care is necesary even when using Insecticidal Soaps since even that can kill off the predators of both. I have never seen a commercially available Insecticidal Soap that needed dilution, all I have seen are ready to use. If you wish to mix your own mix 1 teaspoon of soap (not a detergent, real soap) in 1 quart of water. Real soaps are like Fels Naptha, Ivory, Dr. Bronners, etc. those that are made partly by reacting animal fats with lye. As the link attached indicates most pesticides are ineffective against both of these wee buggers because they have a protective coating that keeps the pesticide from penetrating. Here is a link that might be useful: About Scale and Mealybugs

Hey, you can't have all of this fun without me!! VBG Seriously some of what is being said about piston slap is true. Piston slap alone is NOT a reason to tear an engine down and do a repair. Piston slap is in fact normal on a cold engine because aluminum expands faster than the cast iron engine block. if the piston is tight enough cold, it will be too tight when warmed up. Piston slap should a repair actually be indicated actually does not even mean that a piston needs to be replaced! If the problem is a collapsed skirt, it can in many cases be "knurled" and reshaped to take up the slightly excessive clearance. A knurled piston is one that has many tiny marks made into it's surface, that cause the outer edges of the mark to rise up. Sort of like the way a center punch makes a "crater" in a piece of metal. These two links give both a description of knurling, and an actual application. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knurling http://www.hastingsmfg.com/ServiceTips/international_v8_engines.htm Now the one big problem I have with this thread is the idea that $100 in parts, a saturday, and a twelve pack of beer is all that is required to make the noise go away. I do understand the perception that to the right person pulling and reinstalling a piston isn't difficult to do but the reality is to do it right is in fact much different. This is a job where a very simple mistake can cause a major engine failure after the attempt. Plus if it's 4WD just getting the oil pan off and back on will take up most of your staurday, and that's if you have a hoist. People have been successful simply replacing a piston(s) in chassis but not always successful at eliminating piston noise or slap. That's because the piston is only half of the equation, cylinder wear or taper could easily be coming into play, and I would leave those checks/measurements up to a qualified machinist. Plus we still have the little issue of pressing the piston pin through the rod. Very few shops have the equipment to do that, let alone DIY's. There are many traps lurking in this repair that can make the whole attempt go south in a hurry. One common trap is as simple as not torquing the intake manifold in the correct order! An incorrect torque sequence distorts the engine block, and that changes the line bore of the engine resulting in main bearing/camshaft bearing wear. The $64,000 question from there is, does the resulting wear end up causing the engine to actually fail? Sometimes it does, and sometimes it does not. Lastly, stroke length plays a role in piston slap issues. The longer the stroke, the more often a piston skirt has to be shortened for clearance issues. Cylinder block deck height and other design issues can also impact piston design. The longer that the skirts can be, the less likely it is that piston slap is likely to occur. Although think about it, the longer the skirts, the greater the piston mass and you start impacting engine efficiency due to inertial, and frictional losses. Plus you can impact RPM and horsepower. It's all an intricate dance that even the manufactures are not going to be perfect at every time. That's why we have tolerances, and some things (noises) are allowable even if they are not completely desireable.

Phlebitis isn't necessarily age or weight related. I had it in both legs and at the tender age of 20/21 I had to have the deep vein in each leg tied off in the groin. Today...they put a filter in the vein..or in some cases...do a patch...so one doesn't lose or reduce the circulation in the leg. It's the inflamation of the wall of the vein which often leads to the formation of clots...with the danger being that the clots can break lose and travel through ones system. In my case...the suspected cause was a severe injury to one knee coupled with a genetic blood disorder. A clot formed behind my knee cap and went unnoticed/unattended for months. It has been almost 49 years since my experience with phlebitis...but the two indicators that I remember to this day were the constant pain and swelling of both legs. If you think this description fits what you're experiencing, Susan...don't hesitate to return to your Dr. Also...if you bruise easily...push your Dr for a more involved examination. Anne

Personally I don't like the clip rings because the curtains sag between them. They look sloppy to me and not in a casual kind of way. I love the grommet look, just wonder how long it will be around. I also like the ripplewave look and believe you can do them on a traverse rod, some of which are very pretty. But, I'm not sure either of those work with cottage vibe either. How about tab top? Those aren't too bad to slide and move. Could even put wave tape in the top so they open in waves. For cottage I think of soft and billowy, nothing too structured. Knowing me, I'd get a pretty traverse rod and figure out some way to attach the tab tops to make them work with the traverse rod. I can get very creative with things like that when necessary. :) Not sure if that helps, just my thinking out loud.